Still Water

This week I'll be using the Transformational Tarot created by Arnell Ando and published by U.S. Games. The oracle deck I'll be using with it is the Celtic Book of the Dead, created by Caitlin Matthews, illustrated by Danuta Mayer and published by Edison-Sadd. Today's draws are the Four of Swords and the 'Island of the Four Fences:'

When despair for the world grows in me

 and I wake in the night at the least sound

 in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

 I go and lie down where the wood drake

 rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

 I come into the peace of wild things

 who do not tax their lives with forethought

 of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

 And I feel above me the day-blind stars

 waiting with their light. For a time

 I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. 

~ Wendell Berry

          Seeing the bloody blade next to these two exhausted folks reminded me of how most of us react after overcoming a great challenge. About the time we catch our breath, our minds generate more stuff to worry about, so we're up doing battle again to keep the mental demons at bay. Yet Berry's advice rings true for me; if I haven't given my mind and body a chance to relax, I won't have the discernment to see what is worth my effort and what isn't. The CBD's card illustrates the four estates the Celtic travelers found on their visit to one island. Each section represented an aspiration: power, material possessions, artistic accomplishment and spiritual attainment. The inhabitants ask, "Where is your place in this world? How will you use your talents?" I'll have to borrow a line from Scarlet in answer to their questions: "I'll think about it tomorrow." Today will be designated for rest and recuperation beside still water.